Member's Guide to ADF Pay and Conditions in Australia – see Disclaimer – check PACMAN for full details

 

3.2 Salary

 

While you serve with the ADF, you will be paid a salary, unless you are on unpaid absence. Members on continuous full-time service are paid a salary based on 365 days a year. This salary, together with an allowance called 'Service Allowance', forms the member's military salary. Service allowance (see 4.1, Service allowance) is not paid to members under training or members above the rank of Major.

 

You will be paid every other Thursday if you are a Permanent Force member. Reservists are paid monthly.

 

Pay Grade Structures

Pay grades are the pay bands that recognise the skill level of your employment category.

 

Pay grades can also reflect the flying, submarine, special forces and special operations experience that you use in your job. When your employment category changes, your pay grade will usually change too.

 

Private to Warrant Officer Class 2

Your rate of pay depends on your rank, increment level and pay grade. There are 10 pay grades across the ranks structure ranging from minimum skilled at Pay Grade 1 to highly skilled at Pay Grade 10.

 

Warrant Officer Class 1

Your rate of pay depends on your rank, increment level, tier and pay grade. There are 10 pay grades across the Warrant Officer Class 1 structure.

 

Note: New structures for other rank members and Warrant Officer Class 1's were approved by the DFRT in December 2008. These pay structures will be in place by mid 2009.

 

2nd Lieutenant to Colonel

Your rate of pay depends on your rank, increment level and pay grade.  There are 10 pay grades across the ranks structure.

 

Increments

Most ranks in the ADF have several salary increment points. Increments are time and competency based. They provide a way of moving up the salary scale to the highest point for a particular rank and pay grade, as a member's competency in that rank increases.

 

You can move up the increment scale for your rank if you complete at least 12 months' continuous full-time service on an increment point. If there are any periods when you were not paid a salary, these periods will not count as part of the year for your increment. The 12 months’ requirement refers to 12 months of ‘effective’ service.

 

You will not be entitled to an annual increment unless you are carrying out your duties at the standard expected of your rank, experience and pay grade.

 

Becoming a trainee

You will be paid at a trainee rate of salary if you are in one of these groups.

 

·       You begin officer training.

·       You begin initial category or trade training.

 

You may already be in the ADF just before becoming a trainee (or officer trainee), and the relevant trainee rate of pay would be less than your existing pay. There are provisions that may allow you to keep being paid at your previous salary level while you train. On successful completion of training you would move to the salary level for your new employment classification.

 

Application to Reservists:  Yes. When you are on Reserve service you are paid for days when you are required to attend.

 

Work 6 to under 24 hours

Paid 1 day's pay

Work 3 to under 6 hours

Paid half a day's pay

Work 2 to under 3 hours

Paid a third of a day's pay

 

The Reserve service working day is not six hours long. Six hours is the minimum time a Reservist must work (excluding meal times) to qualify for one days' pay.

 

The standard working day for members on Reserve service is the same as that applying to Permanent Forces members working at the same location. Regardless of the hours worked in a single 24-hour period, a member cannot receive more than one day's pay. Some members on Reserve service are paid at a discounted rate because they are not deployable in their trade. You might get paid less if you can't deploy in your trade.

 

Reserve salaries are not taxed.

 

Members on Reserve service must complete two years' service to qualify for movement from one increment to the next higher increment. Part-time service counts as half the equivalent period of continuous full-time service.

 

In a year, you can only be paid for the number of days you are required to work.

 

References:  ADF Pay and Conditions Manual, Chapter 3 Part 1 and Part 2

 

Charts of current ADF salary and salary related allowance rates are also available under 'Your pay and allowances' on the Defence Pay and Conditions websites at:

Defweb:     http://www.defence.gov.au/dpe/pac/

Internet:    http://www.defence.gov.au/dpe/pac